Watch out for Cyber Monday Scams

Posted by Belle
Updated: March 7th, 2010

The quickly growing popularity of Cyber Monday is estimated to reach sales of $900 million dollars this year, $305 million more dollars than Black Friday!  Sites such as Amazon.com, Paypal and mobile apps are all catching on and making an extra effort to attract millions to their great deals.  Ebay has even created some memorably funny commercials to attract an audience, and it sure is working.  So Cyber Monday is an extra day to find great deals on some really nice things.  On the flip-side, it is also the perfect day for scammers to take advantage of people desperate to find great deals and who may become blindsided from the enthusiasm.  Yes, this is a day many people have already been planning for to take advantage of perfectly nice people like you and me.  Within the past 2 years, $8 BILLION dollars has been swiped from consumers pockets from these online criminals according to the Consumer Reports’ 2009 State of the Net Survey.

Jeff Green, senior vice-president of McAfee Labs, says: “Cyber criminals use their best schemes during the holidays to steal people’s money, credit card information, social security number and identity. These thieves follow seasonal trends and create holiday-related Web sites, scams and other convincing e-mails that can trick even the most cautious users.”

Here are a few ways to avoid Cyber Grinches this holiday season:

• Use secure internet connections when giving out personal/financial information. Shopping while using another’s internet, such as at a coffee shop, airport, or while discreetly mooching off of a neighbor’s internet is a perfect opportunity for your private information to be hacked and reused by an unknown Cyber Grinch.  It is even a good idea to find out how secure their current home connections are.
• Secure your computer, and make sure to keep it updated. 3 steps to make your computer safe for shopping, 1) Install anti-virus and anti-spyware programs; 2) Install a personal Firewall; 3) Keep updating this anti scammer software to ensure your information’s safety, do not let these people get away with your information!
• Pay safely: use your credit card! This is because it is easy to record what you were promised, and you can track online if unknown things were purchased with your card.  Most credit, and now debit card companies cover anything that was unknowingly purchased by a false owner, so paying by credit card is the easiest to record and resolve.
• Know the source. With unknown e-stores, get the name and address in case of complications of the delivery of your purchase.  For online auctions, check out the seller’s track record to see their reputation on the site.

For more extremely valuable tips to help keep your Cyber Monday a positive and beneficial experience, click here.

As for the 12 Scams of Christmas?  Just ask Fox News.

Enjoy this holiday season, or even just these great deals.  Please look out for yourself, because the cyber criminals are ruthless, and will not hesitate to make your life complicated and tangled up for one second.

Be smart. Be safe. Be in control.

~ Belle